Card Machine Fees Explained: What UK Businesses Actually Pay
Card machine pricing can feel deliberately confusing. Transaction fees, scheme fees, interchange, monthly subscriptions, and the jargon is enough to make anyone's eyes glaze over. This guide strips it all back so you know exactly what you are paying for and where to spot hidden costs.
Key Takeaways
- Transaction fees typically range from 0.3% to 1.75% depending on provider, volume, and card type
- Hidden fees like PCI compliance (£4-15/mo), minimum monthly charges, and statement fees add up fast
- Dojo offers bespoke rates tailored to your volume, with no hidden extras or PCI charges
- 30-day commitment-free trial available through CapExpand so you can compare before committing
The Three Layers of Every Card Payment
Every time a customer taps or inserts their card, the fee you pay is actually made up of three separate charges stacked together. Understanding each layer helps you spot whether you are getting a fair deal.
1. Interchange Fee
This goes to the customer's bank (the card issuer). It is set by the card networks and regulated by the EU Interchange Fee Regulation, which the UK retained post-Brexit. For consumer debit cards, the cap is 0.2% of the transaction value. For consumer credit cards, it is 0.3%. Business and corporate cards are not capped, which is why some providers charge more for those transactions.
2. Scheme Fee
This is the charge from the card network itself, like Visa, Mastercard, or Amex. Scheme fees are typically small (around 0.02-0.05%) but they add up over thousands of transactions. They cover the cost of maintaining the payment network, fraud protection, and authorisation infrastructure.
3. Acquirer Markup
This is the margin your card machine provider takes. It covers the cost of your device, customer support, settlement processing, and the provider's profit. This is the only element you can negotiate, and it is where the biggest pricing differences between providers appear.
Transaction Fees: Percentage Per Sale
The most visible fee is the percentage taken from each card sale. In the UK market, typical rates range from 0.5% to 2.5% depending on the provider, your monthly volume, and the type of card used. Higher-volume businesses usually qualify for lower rates because the provider earns more in total from their account.
Some providers offer a single blended rate that bundles interchange, scheme fees, and their markup into one simple percentage. Others break it out into "interchange plus" pricing, where you pay the raw interchange fee plus a fixed margin. Interchange-plus is generally more transparent but harder to predict, while blended rates are simpler but can mask higher costs on certain card types.
Monthly Fees and Hardware Costs
Beyond per-transaction charges, many providers apply a monthly subscription or service fee. This can range from nothing at all (common with pay-as-you-go models) up to £30-£50 per month for more feature-rich plans that include next-day payouts, business analytics, or dedicated support.
Hardware: Buy or Rent?
Card machine hardware typically comes in two models:
Upfront purchase: you pay once (typically £19-£300) and own the device outright. Lower long-term cost but higher initial outlay.
Monthly rental: you pay £10-£40 per month and the provider replaces faulty devices. Lower upfront commitment but higher cost over time.
Neither model is inherently better. If you are testing card acceptance for the first time, rental reduces risk. If you are committed long-term, buying usually works out cheaper over 24 months.
Want to see exactly what you would pay?
Dojo publishes all rates with no hidden fees. Get your personalised quote through CapExpand in 5 minutes.
Get your quoteWhat Does “Transparent Pricing” Actually Mean?
Transparent pricing means the provider shows you exactly what each component of the fee is, rather than bundling everything into an opaque single rate. With transparent pricing, you can see the interchange fee, scheme fee, and provider markup separately on your statement. This makes it far easier to verify you are being charged correctly and to compare providers on a like-for-like basis.
Look for providers who publish their pricing clearly on their website and who do not bury key charges in the small print of a 40-page contract.
Hidden Fees to Watch Out For
Some providers keep their headline rates low but make up the difference with extra charges you only discover once you are locked in. Common culprits include:
PCI non-compliance fees: charged monthly if you haven't completed a PCI DSS questionnaire
Minimum monthly service charges: a fee applied if your card volume falls below a threshold
Early termination fees: penalties for leaving a contract before it ends (sometimes £200+)
Chargeback fees: per-dispute charges when a customer reverses a payment
Statement fees: charges for paper or even digital monthly statements
Authorisation fees: a small per-transaction charge on top of the percentage fee
Before signing anything, ask for a full schedule of fees, not just the transaction rate. If a provider cannot give you a single, clear fee schedule, that is a red flag.
How to Compare Providers Fairly
The only meaningful comparison is your total monthly cost, not the headline rate. Calculate what you would actually pay by combining:
Transaction fee × estimated monthly card volume
Monthly subscription or service charge
Hardware cost (annualised if buying upfront)
Any additional fees from the full fee schedule
A provider with a slightly higher transaction rate but no monthly fee and no hidden charges may cost you less overall than one advertising a rock-bottom percentage.
A Note on Transparent Pricing: Dojo Through CapExpand
One of the reasons we partner exclusively with Dojo is their approach to pricing. Unlike providers that require a sales call for a bespoke quote (where you never know if you got a fair deal), Dojo publishes standard rates that anyone can see. There are no PCI compliance fees, no hidden statement charges, and no surprise monthly minimums on top of what you are quoted. What you see is what you pay.
Dojo offers 30-day rolling or 12-month contracts with a 30-day commitment-free trial. If it does not work for you, you walk away. Over 100,000 UK businesses have chosen Dojo, according to Dojo, including 1 in 8 high street transactions nationally.
Sources and references
Cut through the jargon
Tell us your monthly card volume and we will show you exactly what you would pay. Plain English, no surprises.
Get a free quoteThe part of the bill that is fixed by law
One component of every rate is capped and no provider can price under it. Interchange, the share paid to the cardholder's own bank, is capped in the UK at 0.2% on consumer debit and 0.3% on consumer credit by the Interchange Fee Regulation, in force since 9 December 2015 and enforced by the Payment Systems Regulator. Everything above that line is scheme fees and the acquirer's margin, which is where two quotes actually differ. Business cards and cards issued outside the UK sit outside the caps and cost more to accept, which is why your card mix moves the bill more than the headline rate does.
The two card limits belong in the same conversation, because they decide how a payment reaches you rather than what it costs. A single contactless payment stops at £100, and a card asks for a PIN once the running total passes £300. Both are set by the issuing bank, not the terminal. Banks with strong fraud controls have been able to set their own since March 2026, and £100 is still what most cards do.
CapExpand Ltd (Company No. 14433858) is an authorised Dojo partner, not a card machine manufacturer. Card machine pricing and availability are subject to change. Our card machine services are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and fall outside our appointment as an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited, which covers credit broking only.